City to acquire 204 acres of pristine parkland

San Antonio mayor Ivy Taylor pauses Tuesday June 7, 2016 in an area that will become a new park in San Antonio in the north central area of the city. The Classen-Steubing family has agreed to sell 204 acres of their ranch to the City of San Antonio. This is one of the last major, undeveloped parcels of land on the North Side and is over the sensitive Edwards Aquifer recharge Zone. less

San Antonio mayor Ivy Taylor pauses Tuesday June 7, 2016 in an area that will become a new park in San Antonio in the north central area of the city. The Classen-Steubing family has agreed to sell 204 acres of ... more

Photo: John Davenport, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

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San Antonio mayor Ivy Taylor (center, facing away) pauses Tuesday June 7, 2016 in an area that will become a new park in San Antonio in the north central area of the city. The Classen-Steubing family has agreed to sell 204 acres of their ranch to the City of San Antonio. This is one of the last major, undeveloped parcels of land on the North Side and is over the sensitive Edwards Aquifer recharge Zone. less

San Antonio mayor Ivy Taylor (center, facing away) pauses Tuesday June 7, 2016 in an area that will become a new park in San Antonio in the north central area of the city. The Classen-Steubing family has agreed ... more

Photo: John Davenport, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

Image 3 of 7

An area near Evans road will become a new park in San Antonio in the north central area of the city. The Classen-Steubing family agreed to sell 204 acres of their ranch to the city of San Antonio. This is one of the last major, undeveloped parcels of land on the North Side and is over the sensitive Edwards Aquifer recharge Zone. less

An area near Evans road will become a new park in San Antonio in the north central area of the city. The Classen-Steubing family agreed to sell 204 acres of their ranch to the city of San Antonio. This is one ... more

Photo: John Davenport /San Antonio Express-News

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This is an area near Evans road that will become a new park in San Antonio in the north central area of the city. The Classen-Steubing family has agreed to sell 204 acres of their ranch to the City of San Antonio. This is one of the last major, undeveloped parcels of land on the North Side and is over the sensitive Edwards Aquifer recharge Zone. less

This is an area near Evans road that will become a new park in San Antonio in the north central area of the city. The Classen-Steubing family has agreed to sell 204 acres of their ranch to the City of San ... more

Photo: John Davenport, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

Image 5 of 7

This is a house in an area near Evans road that will become a new park in San Antonio in the north central area of the city. The Classen-Steubing family has agreed to sell 204 acres of their ranch to the City of San Antonio. This is one of the last major, undeveloped parcels of land on the North Side and is over the sensitive Edwards Aquifer recharge Zone. less

This is a house in an area near Evans road that will become a new park in San Antonio in the north central area of the city. The Classen-Steubing family has agreed to sell 204 acres of their ranch to the City ... more

Photo: John Davenport, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

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Art Downey, Chairman of the Stone Oak Property Owner's Association, pauses Tuesday June 7, 2016 in an area that will become a new park in San Antonio in the north central area of the city. The Classen-Steubing family has agreed to sell 204 acres of their ranch to the City of San Antonio. This is one of the last major, undeveloped parcels of land on the North Side and is over the sensitive Edwards Aquifer recharge Zone. less

Art Downey, Chairman of the Stone Oak Property Owner's Association, pauses Tuesday June 7, 2016 in an area that will become a new park in San Antonio in the north central area of the city. The Classen-Steubing ... more

Photo: John Davenport, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

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City to acquire 204 acres of pristine parkland

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Amid wildflowers and cacti on a large undeveloped North Side family ranch, Mayor Ivy Taylor said Tuesday that the city would purchase some 204 acres for a new park, preserving the vast majority of the land in its pristine state.

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“Make no mistake — this is a great opportunity for the city of San Antonio. The natural beauty is stunning, and it sits over our Edwards Aquifer recharge zone,” Taylor said during a morning news conference on the ranch. “And so, the acquisition will keep the land from being developed for residential development.”

Taylor said that means that “as many as 3,500 houses and apartments that could have been built on this site won’t. The purchase will protect San Antonio’s largest source of drinking water, and it will also help with the area’s roadways.”

Preventing the residences from being built will also reduce pressure on the booming Northeast Independent School District as it faces pressures to keep pace with development.

The Classen-Steubing family, which owned some 50 square miles in northern Bexar County, has agreed to sell 204 acres of the 600-acre tract it owns west of U.S. 281 and north of Loop 1604.

The land acquisition would happen in two phases. The first would require City Council approval for the $6.3 million purchase of 165 acres that would remain in its natural state. The second phase — for the remaining 39 acres that would include baseball and soccer fields, hike-and-bike trails and other traditional park amenities — the city would ask voters to approve $3.8 million in the 2017 bond program.

The total cost of acquisition would be $10.1 million — an amount that future generations won’t mind, said Councilman Joe Krier.

Councilman Joe Krier said: “I’ve said to Mayor Taylor more than once, and I’ve said to many of the people in this (tent), a hundred years from now… nobody in San Antonio will say, ‘how’d y’all get this land? What did you pay for it?’ What they will say… is, ‘Thank heavens leaders in San Antonio in 2016 had the vision and the leadership and the commitment to make this park happen, which generations after generations of San Antonians will enjoy for as far as we can see.”

The deal also would lead to the completion of some major roadway expansions. The two unconnected sections of Hardy Oak Boulevard would be joined on the western edge of the park, and Huebner Road would be extended eastward, bisecting the new portion of Hardy Oak. The city’s map also show Huebner eventually extending east to connect with U.S. 281, at Redland Road.

Robert Schlortt, a member of and spokesman for the Classen-Steubing family, recalled the land being his playground as a child. He also extolled the role of parks here, noting that he and his family could easily have spent more time on the family land, right out their back door, but enjoy loading their bikes into the truck and visiting Hardberger and Brackenridge parks, among others.

A look at the project

Click on the icon in the upper left for a legend and menu to see the various pieces of the project and planned funding.

The purchase will be the largest parkland acquisition by the city since it bought what’s now known as Hardberger Park, near Wurzbach Parkway and Blanco Road. While the new park, at 204 acres, will be large, it won’t eclipse others in the system. Hardberger and Brackenridge parks are about 300 acres each, and Pearsall Park on the Southwest Side, is some 600 acres.